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Four companies vie for Rochester bike-share contract

The City of Rochester, in response to a FOIL request, has released the names of the four organizations interested in running a bike-share program. They are: BCycle (w/ Spectra), Shared Mobility Inc. (w/ Social Bicycles), Shift Transit (w/ PBSC Urban Solutions), and Zagster.

The organizations in parenthesis are the subcontractors, according to the city.

The company charges a membership fee and a use fee, typically broken down into half-hour increments.
The bikes themselves have baskets, front and rear lights, and a bell.

BCycle operates in many North American cities, including Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Forth Worth, Texas. It also operates in Santiago, Chile.

Shared Mobility, according to its website, is a Buffalo-based nonprofit “that advances innovative transportation services.” It looks like the company does bike and car sharing as well as transportation planning. It has a bike share in Buffalo and did a car share there until 2015, when the operation was sold to Zipcar.

Users can find bikes at hub locations and reserve them from the web, a mobile app, or from the bike itself. And you can share your mapped rides and stats, including miles travelled and calories burned.

Shift Transit says that it offers “a unique one-stop-shop solution with turnkey delivery,” offering bikes, stations, software, station siting and planning, and marketing. It has programs in Chicago, London, Boston, Columbus, and other cities.

The bike system tracks cycling metrics, including time, distance, and calories.

Zagster, headquartered in Cambridge, provides bike sharing for communities, businesses, and institutions. In other cities, riders join the program by signing up for hourly, monthly, or annual passes. The company’s inventory includes cruiser bikes and accessible bikes: hand bikes and trikes.

Zagster operates in more than 30 states.

City of Rochester officials say that they want a bike-share program that meets the needs of several types of users, including college students, visitors, residents commuting to work, and residents who want to use the bikes for recreation.